The byway begins at the western city limits of Medicine Lodge and continues west to the intersection of U.S. 160 and U.S. 183 at Coldwater. The route is a straight 42 miles but on either side of the road you’ll see red, beautiful red—buttes, mesas, canyons, and vistas. The land is rugged and rolling, expansive and enchanting. You may see cattle in the pasture land, abundant yucca, a few trees, and too many pesky eastern cedars, but it’s the red that steals the show. Many of the rocks and much of the soil are stained red by iron oxide, giving the region its physiographic name, the Red Hills. Gypsum, a white rock, is found in layers within those red beds. One type of gypsum, selenite, forms large diamond-shaped crystals that litter road cuts appearing like broken glass. (8 Wonders of Kansas - Geography)